RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort on Thursday night at home against Oklahoma Baptist, but ultimately lost to the second-place Bison, 64-58.
Scoring was hard to come by for both teams early on as the two were at an eight-all stalemate at the 6:09 mark of the first quarter. Oklahoma Baptist eventually broke that tie with 4:48 to play on a three-pointer. The Bison would remain in the lead the rest of the period and held a 14-12 lead heading into the second.
The Bison managed to stay out front throughout the entirety of the second quarter, but they were not able to create a lot of separation as the Golden Suns stayed within striking distance. Oklahoma Baptist's largest lead of the quarter was seven points and came with 1:47 left, but the Golden Suns were able to score the final four points of the half to cut the deficit down to three at the break.
Early in the third quarter, the Golden Suns grabbed a lead and stayed in front for most of the period. Leading by their largest amount of three points on several occasions, the Golden Suns found themselves trailing by point, 44-43, at the end of the third as the Bison closed out on a 5-1 run over the final two minutes.
Not long into the fourth quarter, the Golden Suns regained the lead on a layup by
AbbiGrace Cunningham, but the one-point advantage was short-lived as Oklahoma Baptist made a layup on their next trip down the floor. That ended up being the final lead change of the game as the Bison then managed to create some distance in the score, leading by as much as nine points before ending with a six-point margin of victory.
Statistically, the Golden Suns had three players in double-figures and were led by Cunningham and her 14 points.
Olivia Jones was next with 13 while
Julie Wagner rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points. Wagner also registered a double-double as she hauled in 16 rebounds, tying her career-high.
The Golden Suns will look to bounce back against another tough opponent in Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
